Action for upright pianos



F. L. GEORGE.

ACTION FOR UPRiGHT PIANOS- APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9' WW.

Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

IF/GJ.

wszvrozz.

FRANK L.6E0/?6E BY 21/ ATTORNEY-5.

- specification.

FRANK L. GEOIEtGrE, DE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

- ACTION FOR UER-IGHT PIANOS.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK,IJ. Gnonon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Les Angelcs, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful. ln'iprovements in Actions for Upright Pianos, of which the follkiiwing is a My invention relates to actions for upright pianos and consists of the novel features herein shown, described and claimed.

This invention has for its object, amongother things, principally to promote siniplicity; to secure absolute re'apetition under any and all conditions; to reduce friction to the minimum; to secure ease and per-- fcction of regulation; to obtain permanency of regulation; to obviate blocking of hammers undcrany and allconditions; to pro.- mote flexibility of-parts and impart buoy.- ancy to the touch; to provide-ease or -facility in removing any part while the. action remains permanently in the piano; to effectually eliminate the' many troublesome features existing in all. other forms of upright actions now generally in use; to secure great saving of space occupied from front to rear of action; and to effect great saving of labor and material in manufacturing, installing and regulating. It is another object of my iuvention'to reduce the sudden shock of the blow from the key on the end of the abstract to-practically elin'iinate the friction between the end of the key and theabstract, and to provide a means to facilitate the regnlatioirof the action between the. end of the abstract and the key, also to promote permanency of regulation.

- Figure 1 1s a side elevation ofan action for upright pianos embodying the prin ciples of my invention, the supporting parts being shown in cross section.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentarydetail in elevation similar to Fig. 1 withparts omitted.

Fig. 3 is a detail view on an enlarged scale showing the construction and action of the capstan screw at the forwardend of the forward swing, whereby the abstract is regulated in relation to the key.

In comparison with the standard uprlght" piano action heretoforein use, I omit the back check wire, the tape and bridle wire,

the wippcn, and parts that go along with these elements.

rail 9.

Specification of Letterslatent. P t t d 14 ig,g I Application filcd scptember 9, 1919. SerialNo. 822,726.

- A felt 7 is mounted upon the abutment 6. The adyusting screw 8 is screw-seated in the lower [lange rail 9 and the head of the screw rests upon the felt 7. A second abutment 10 extends from the bracket 5, and an expansive coil spring 11 is inserted between the second abutment '10 and the lower-flange The flange 12 is rigidly connected to the lower flange rail 9 by a screw 13 and extends downwardly. The lower swing 11 is connected to the lower end of the flange 12 by a pin 15 and extends in a horizontal position forwardly to a )lZtDG above the rear end of the key 3. T 1e abstract-16 is connected to the forward end of the-swing 14 by a pin 17 and the abstract is nearly verticaL- An arm 18 extends forwardly from the forward end of the swing 14- in a higher plane. An adjusting screw- 19 is tapped downwardly throu h the arm 18 and screws into a head 20 raving a felt -21 bearing upon the key 3.

The intermediate action rail 22 is rigidly mounted upon the bracket 5; The intermediate fiange 23 is fixed upon the action rail 22 by a screw 24 and the upperswing 25 is connected to the flange 23 by a pin 26 and the upper swing 25 is .connectcdto the abstract 16 by a pin 27.. The uppcrend 28 of the abstract 16 is offset backwardly above the pin 27. 1

A rigid arm 29 extends from the action bracket 5. A swinging arm 30 is connected to the forward end of the rigid arm 29 by a pin 31. There is a swinging arm. 30 at each end of the lower flange rail 9 so as to hold the action rail in place between the adjusting screws 8 and the springs 11. The upper swing 25 takesthe place of the usual,

-tion 37 is used. The details of the jack of the jack 32 is connected main act-ion rail 4.0.

'frorn the rear end oi': the upper swing spring and touch regulator 37 are shown. described and claimed in a tiflllltltllllllll application for a con'ibination jack spring aml touch regulator il ill' upright piano actions.

liled Septenilfier 9 19h), Serial No. 322.733..

The damper spoon 38 extends np\\-'ardly 1-5 and the equalizing damper construction 5 ei'igages the damper spoon. The details oi the equalizing damper 135.) are shown, described and. claimed in my companion application. for equalizing, la-in] )ers for up right pianos, filed SBPtOll'llJGl' l), 1919, Serial No. 322,728.

The main action rail. 4h siniports the principal parts of the jack springaud touch regulator construction 37 and the equalizing damper construction 39. Brackets ll extend forwardly from the rail 4.0 and support the regulating rail elil. The hammer butt 43 is connected to the flange let. by a pin 45 and the flange 4a is conuecti-nl to the The back stop ett is connected to the hammer butt 413 by a keystone tongue and groove joint 47, said joint being made with glue.

The back check 49 is not only a pernntne-nt part of the jack 32 but it presents a padded surface to contact with the regulating screw 4-8 and has a. notched-in place in the wood foundation to receive an elastic felt cushion, and then around this entire surface is drawn a buckskin cover 50 which is firmly glued to the wood pin'tion. of the jack both at the front and at the back. and this felt cushion imparts elasticity and buoyancy and also acts like a shock absorber to the entire construction when the contact occurs with the regulating screw 48. Furthermore the )added surface on the rear of the back chec 49 has a permanent resting place against the covered surface 5]. on the lower front side of the hannner butt 43 and also has a. second support where the rear 52 of the top end of the jack rests against the lower padded portion 53 of the hammer butt 43, thereby giving to the jack a permanent' double rest. The upper rear end 5et of the jack has a very sharp edge.

The surface 51, of the hammer butt 4.3 is

cut curved and not flatand the felt is firmly glued to this curved surface so that the outer face of the felt presents a round side to the rear edge 54 of-the jack. This gives the jack 32 a doublebearin;- against the hammer butt 43 and absolutely prevents friction and cutting and eliminates wear and secures permanency of parts. 6 is a damper carried by the damper lever; 57 is a piano wire, and 58 is the hammer arm carrying the hammer 59.

T he lifter bar 60 is connected to the center of the swinging arm 30 by a. pin 61 and.

the hammer restrail 62' is connected to the lifter. bar 60b) 8. pin 63-, and to the action bracket 5 by an arm 62". It is to be understood that the hammer rest rail 62 extends the entire lei'igth oi the action and that there a litter bar (30 at iac-h end of the rail 62-.

An. alniitment 4 extends forwardly from near-the upper end of the action bracket 5 and a capstan screw 65 is screwseatial in the hammer rest rail 62 and rests upon a felt (it) upon the abutment (34. There should be a capstan screw 8 and a capstan screw 65 at each end of the action.

The capstan screws 65 serve to adjust the hammer rest rail 62 to its proper normal position to regulate the normal striking distance of the hammer 59 from. the wire 57.

The capstan. screws 65 and 8 are adjusted togethcr to produce uniformity of touch and place proper tension. upon the parts.

Referring to Fig. 3 which illustrates the action betwen the key and the abstract, and the means for adjusting relation between the two, 5 is the action bracket which rests at its lower end upon an adjustable foundation. 5- in the usual way and has an abutment 29 extending forwardly at a suitable distance above the extreme lower end. The arm 30 is connected to the bracket at its forward end by a pin 31 and at its rear end by screws '31 seated in the end of the lower flange rail 9. The lower swing 14 is pivoted at its rear end into the flange 12 which in turn is securely fastened to the flange rail 9 by means of the screw 13, its forward end being: pivoted to the lower end of the abstract 1.6 by the pin 17. The arm 18 supports the regulating screw 19 which in turn rests at its lower end upon the rounded surface of the key 3 Shown at 3*. i

In the usual, form of construction the abstract 16 has its extreme lower end resting upon an adjustable screw seatedinto the end of: the key 3 and. receives the upward blow of the key; also the forward end of the swine 14 is pinned to the abstract 16 and. merely acts as a guide to hold the abstract in position which form of construction creates friction between. the end of the abstract l6 and the capstan screw on which it rests. Again, regulating the usual forn'rof capstan screw is diilicult as the operator must remove the tool used each time the screw is turned in order to test the action.

In my invention the abstract lfidoes not rest upon the key but as shown, is pivoted at its lower end. to the swing, and the. arm 18 of the swing 14 extends forwardly through the abstract and the regulating screw 19 rests upon the rounded surface 3 of the key 3. This form of construction relieves the shock of the blow from the key on the end of the abstract by communicating it to tire abstractthrough the regulating screw and the swing It also rcduces'fric tion to the minimuni as the felt pad on the lower end of the regulating screw 19 rolls around the rounded portion '3 of the key 3 instead of sliding on a flat surface asin the usual construction- Also the act of regulating by my improved construction is much more com'cniently, quickly and easily accent plished owing to the fact that the regulating screw is very much more accessible and can be quickly and accurately adjusted without having to remove the regulating tool until the act of adjustment is completed.

Through the lifting motion of the pedal rod 67 when-the soft pedal is operated the hammer rest, rail 62 is moved upwardly toward the piano wire on the arm 62. This movement carries the hammer 59 forwardly to the correct striking distance for the soft pedal action on the wire 57. This motion of the hammer rest rail (i2 through the vertical lifter bars 60 raises the rear. ends of the flange rail swings 30 thereby raising-the lower flange rail 9 thereby lifting the rear end of the lower action swing 14 which is fulcrumed upon the rear end of the key. This last movement raises the abstract 16 thereby raising the ack 32 in proportion to the upward movement of the hannner butt 43, thereby keeping the upper end of the jack 32 at all times accurately adjusted to the back stop 46 and the hammer butt 43.

The soft pedal rod 67 extends through the key-frame 1 and presses upwardly on the rail 62-. The upper end face of the rod 67 has a projection 68 extending into the recess in the rail 62 to hold the rod from slipping out of place. The rod 67 is operated by the soft pedal. The details of the soft pedal construction are shown, described and claimed in a companion application. Soft pedals for upright pianos, filed Sept. 9, 1919, Serial No. 322729.

Thus I have produced. an action for up right pianos, the essential or leading features of the action being a lower horizontal swing, an upper horizontal swing, an abstract pivotally connecting the free ends of the lower and upper horizontal swingsand extending above the upper swing, a jack pivotally connected to the upper end of the abstract above the upper swing, a hammer butt pivotally mounted, a back stop rigidly connected to the hammer butt, a regulating screw mounted in the back stop, a back check extending from the jack and forming a part of the jack and having a shock absorbing padded surface adapted to engage the regulating screw, the upper back corner of the jack being square and there being a curved pad upon the hammer butt to enga the vertical face, and a. rounded. pad upon the hammer butt to engage the horizontal face and to engage the cushion padded back chock.

The act of regulating the ordinary form of upright action is one of extreme dif ficulty and" a very-vexing operation, often resulting in split, strained or broken parts,

and owing to extreme complication as well s I vb mum in this action, and there can be but very small wearing of parts consequently a permanent as well as a stable regulation is obtained.

Blocking of hammershas always been one of the most annoying conditions-in the upright action as well as one of the most difficult to prevent as there are many conditions which can cause it, and in my construction it is impossible to block the hammers.

My action is so constructed that all flange screws are easily accessible from the outside allowing the removal or replacement of any individual part while the action re mains permanently in the piano.)

Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. In an action for upright pianos, a lower horizontalswing having a forwardly extending arm carrying. an adjusting screw to rest upon the rear end of a key, an upper horizontal swing, an abstract pivotally connecting the free ends of the up 361 and lower horizontal swings and extending throughout its entire length in one continuous part, and a jack pivotally' connected to the extreme upper end of the abstract above the upper swing.

2. In an action for upright pianos, a. lower horizontal I swing having a forwardly extending arm carrying an adjusting screw to rest upon the rear end of a key, an upper horizontal swing, an abstract pivotally connecting the free ends of the up er and lower horizontal swings and extenr ing throughout its entire length in one continuous part, a. jack pivotally connected to the extreme upper end of the abstract above the upper swing, a hack stop extension forming a fixed part of the hammer butt, a regulating screw mounted through the back stop extension to contact with the back check, and a back check extending upwardly forwardly from the'jack and forming apart of the jack and having a double padded surface adapted to engage the regulating screw, and a single padded rear sin'face to rest against the hamnicr butt, the upper back edge of the jack being square, a curved pad upon the hammer butt to engage the vertical face of the jack, and a rounded pad upon the hammer butt to engage the padded rear-surface of the back cheek to form a double bearin of the jack when at rest upon the hammer butt.

In an action for upright pianos, a hann'uer butt pirotally mounted, an abstract, :1- jack operatirely mounted in the extreme upper end of the abstract, a back stop extension rigidly a fixed part of: the hammer butt, a regulating screw mounted through the back stop extension to contact with the back check, and a. back check extending. up- Wardly and forvardly from the jack and forming it part of. the jack and having a double padded surface adapted to engage the regulating screw, and a single padded rear surface to rest against the hammer butt, the upper back edge of the jack being square, and a curved pad upon the hammer butt to engage the vertical face of the jack and a rounded pad upon the hammer butt to engage the padded rear surface of the back check to form adouble bearing of the jack when at rest upon. the hammer butt.

4. In an action for upright pianos, the combination of an abstract spaced from the key, a lower swing having its forward end pivoted to the lower end of the abstract, :1 regulating screw at the forward end of the lower swing l'or adjusting the abstract in relation to the key, said screw being engaged by said key, whereby the shock of the key on the abstract is reduced, and friction between the key and the abstract is substantially eliminated.v

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FRANK L. GEORGE. 

